


Plunge Into the Unknown

by crazywrite



Category: Norse Religion & Lore, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 04:36:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10297658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazywrite/pseuds/crazywrite
Summary: "Even the Aesir had ballads that chronicled the eventual madness that overtook those that actively tried to explore the primordial darkness. Those that been unfortunate to fall were cursed with madness, forever ranting and raving until that darkness consumed them.If they came out at all, that is."Loki contemplates the fate of the dark-haired prince as an old friend pops in for a visit.





	

There was a reason why, in his time, the Bifrost had only connected Asgard to Midgard.

The upper realms of Vanaheim and Alfheim were easily accessible due to the relative proximity to Agard. Just a hop and a skip on Yggdrasil’s branches and you were at your destination.

You couldn’t do that with Midgard because of its placement in Ginnunga. Loki snorted at the irony. The largest world balanced between primordial fire and ice, cocooned in a blanket of nothingness. Odin had placed it there for defense, molding Ymir’s broken body into a world that promised the Aesir godhood. Perhaps he didn’t expect it to flourish so well, a flowering land that rested in the heart of chaos.

Loki sat on one of the many branches of Yggdrasil, absolute darkness mere inches from his dangling feet. It was almost too close for comfort. Things existed in Ginnunga, things that were not Aesir or Vanir or alfar. 

Even the mighty wanderer Odin stayed clear of the gaping maw of Ginnungagap. 

And this is where the one that shared his name had fallen into.

Loki glanced up, the splintered end of the Bifrost sending fractals of light around him. If he were adventurous and perhaps a bit foolish, he’d climb up the few branches and pop over the bridge and strike a conversation up with Heimdall. Did the watchman of the gods still hate him? Or perhaps he’d shapeshift to look like the second prince and wreak havok.

He looked down again, at the darkness that existed before anything, even time. It was possible to transverse through Ginnunga on the trunk of Yggdrasil —it was a part of the cosmos and the World Tree had its roots in  _ fucking everything _ — but the road was treacherous to the point of suicide. The mile-wide ridges that cut across the mighty ash’s length narrowed to mere inches wide. It was daunting even for him, a god that traveled the world almost as much as his blood brother.

Even the Aesir had ballads that chronicled the eventual madness that overtook those that actively tried to explore the primordial darkness. Those that been unfortunate to fall were cursed with madness, forever ranting and raving until that darkness consumed them.

If they came out at all, that is.

Only time would tell what the Norns had planned for the shadowy prince.

A familiar chittering broke Loki out of his thoughts. He looked to his right and saw a familiar figure with beady black eyes.

“Ah, Ratatosk,” Loki said. “Come to see an old friend?”

Ratatosk was a being that was as old as Yggdrasil itself, forever traipsing its length. He carried gossip between the giant eagle that rested on the top branches and the dragon Nidhogg that gnawed at its roots. Mortals labelled it as a squirrel and Loki could see the resemblance in Ratatosk’s twitchy movements and bushy tail. But at the end of the day, Ratatosk was Ratatosk and would remain this way until Ragnarok.

Ratatosk butted its head against Loki’s arm and his mind was filled with a message.  _ You worry about the boy _ . It wasn’t a question.

Loki shrugged. “He reminds me of myself when I was younger. Full of potential, mischief, and perhaps an unhealthy amount of angst.”

_ He was not meant to be part of the glamor. _

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? So how did Odin fuck up this time?”

If it was possible, Ratatosk shrugged.  _ He took a hrimthursar babe after a battle. He thought he had been abandoned. _

_ Wow _ . “Odin has made some horrible decisions in the past but . . .” He was truly speechless for once in his quasi-immortal life. Loki leaned further against the rough bark, the slight pain centering him. He wanted to march up to Gladsheim and slap some sense into his brother. You don’t just take a jotun babe away from its parents. Loki knew very few hrimthursar personally (fire and ice don’t mix incredibly well) but he did know that the jotnar valued the bonds of blood almost religiously.

_ The boy did not know, _ Ratatosk said suddenly and Loki jerked his head up.  _ He was raised to believe that he was Aesir and when he found out he . . . reacted badly. _

“Explain.” Oh, this could not be good.

_ He sought the destruction of his adopted brother and his sire. When Thor returned to Asgard, he attempted to destroy Jotunheim by using the beam of the Bifrost. _

Loki frowned. “But I was on Jotunheim when I heard of the poor boy’s demise.”

Ratatosk chirped almost annoyedly.  _ It is what they  _ think _ is Jotunheim. In actuality, it’s the equator of Niflheim. _

Of course it was Niflheim. The hrimthursar were proud of their direct connection to Ymir, the first giant. They had retained his penchant for enjoying the icy climate of the primordial worlds. Loki glanced down at the swirling mass of Ginnunga and wondered what sort of person could keep their sanity there. “He’ll be fine, right?”

_ I am only a lowly messenger, not a Norn _ . Was that amusement in Ratatosk’s voice? _ But you should know, Loki Laufeyjarson, fate is a strange thing. This is his journey to take. _

The smile slipped slightly from Loki’s face. It was truly something if Ratatosk was being this serious. “I understand.” He sighed and glanced at the being mortals once described as a squirrel. “Ah, I miss the time when all you told the Aesir were ribald jokes about their jotun mistresses.”

Ratatosk glanced askance.  _ The Aesir, or rather the Asgardians as they call themselves now, don’t get the hilarity like you do, Laufeyjarson. _

His lips curled up at that. “Thank you, I’m honored.” Something in his pocket vibrated and he absentmindedly pulled his phone out of his trousers. Glancing down, he saw that it was a text from his wife. And she wasn’t happy.

Loki stood, the branch creaking ominously. He looked down at Ratatosk who was already jumping from branch to branch, eager to relay his quota of rumor and conjecture. He smiled and for a moment, it felt like the old times, finding all of the nooks and crannies the Aesir didn’t bother with.

“Race you to Midgard?” he asked but Ratatosk was already gone.

Loki shook his head, running across the branches until he found the familiar cave that would teleport him to Midgard in five steps. The primordial magic of Yggdrasil coalesced around him and in the span of a few seconds, he was in a snow-covered clearing deep in the American Midwest.

Glancing up at the cloudy sky, Loki shifted his form to a hawk. He’d be home in a matter of hours instead of days in this form. And that’s what he’d do. Head back home, kiss his wife, embrace his sons. There was no point in agonizing over the second prince’s grip on sanity. 

It was better to live in the moment than agonize over the past. Especially for gods. 

**Author's Note:**

> Norse cosmology is weird.


End file.
